​“What Matunuck Oyster Farm Taught Me About The Community of RI”

​ bout Me
A
I am a freshman at The Greene School, in West Greenwich, RI. I attend TGS because it
is a school that has a good community. At TGS we have done fieldworks at different places to
learn more about Rhode Island and C3. C3 stands for Community, Culture, and Climate. It is a
very important part of my learning expedition.

Experience on the Rhode Trip and Matunuck Oyster Farm

Towards the end of October, the freshman of TGS took a wonderful Rhode Trip. We
visited many places in Rhode Island that taught us about the Community, Culture, and Climate
about our state. Our first destination was the Matunuck Oyster Bar, in South Kingston. There,
we learned about how oysters are important to RI. We learned that they are a big part of tourism
and the economy. We learned that they bring together the community and the Matunuck Oyster
Farm is a great place to gather.

The purpose of the Rhode Trip was to show us how C3 is portrayed in Rhode Island.
Rhode Island has 400 miles of coastline and there is much to explore and learn about, so going
on this trip helped us get a better view of it. I personally really enjoyed the trip and benefitted
from all the places we visited. The experience was fun and will hopefully help me in the future.

The water near the Matunuck Oyster Farm

 Oysters Can Switch Genders?!?

If the Oyster Farm in Matunuck wasn't surprising in itself, we also learned a very
unexpected thing about the oysters! When we came to the Oyster farm I was expecting to learn
about how the idea originated, which I did, but I also learned something very interesting! When
the owner of the place was talking to us, he taught us a very intriguing fact, it seems that oysters
start off as male but later in their life turn female! Isn't that amazing? And not only that, but they
can also turn back into a male! I would have never expected to learn something like that, it is
very surprising.

Another cool thing we learned at the Oyster Farm is that one of the ports used to collect
oysters, is one of the biggest ports, so a lot of people come from other states and places to fish
in it! This all adds more to the aspect of community, and is a very interesting fact! We also
learned about how the oysters are affected by climate, and that heat can make them stressed
out and possibly die. The most important thing we learned is that they are part of aquaculture
which is the fasted growing food industry in the world. We learned all these amazing things, in
just one place, I’m sure you can imagine how much we learned in total after visiting all six
places!

Important lessons learned at Matunuck Oyster Farm

An important lesson I learned is that oysters are very helpful for the economy.

The benefits of oysters to the economy are important because:

● They attract tourists

● They provide jobs
● They are a source of income
● They are a source of food
● They help keep the water clean
● They are a big part of aquaculture and help it be the fastest growing food industry
 Advice!
To help the community, you can keep the waters clean and avoid polluting so that the oysters
in the waters don't get harmed. Polluting the water will not only harm the oysters, but also the
economy and community of RI.

The second lesson I learned was that climate can affect the oysters

● When the temperature rises, oysters get stressed and can die
● When the temperature is lower, oysters stay in their spot and barely move
● During spring, when the weather is warm, oysters start to move
● They start to mate and reproduce in the spring weather
● They also grow during that time

More Advice!
When the temperature is low, it is best not to go fishing because the oysters are not moving
and are preparing for reproduction. Taking them out during this time will decrease the amount of
them during spring.

How​ YOU​ can help!

Learning about the oyster farm and the struggle of maintaining it is fun and interesting! But it
would be more fun if you give an effort to help! You can go to local beaches and help pick up
trash to prevent the pollution from going into the ocean and harming the sea life! This website (
http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/take-action/10-things-you-can-do-to-save-the-ocean
/​ )shows you ways of keeping an ocean clean, please check it out!